Bodies of water such as reservoirs from which potable water is taken for public and private uses, as well as other bodies of water such as swimming pools or bathing facilities in which humans swim or immerse themselves, often develop adverse conditions such as the growth of algae, accumulation of mosquito larvae, adverse chemical imbalance, the need to prevent the growth of harmful germs, etc., and these conditions require treatment in order to drink, swim-in, bathe or to otherwise use such facilities. Such treatment is generally done by adding predetermined quantities of soluble chemicals to the water in such facilities to arrest or control one or more of such conditions.
In the treatment of mosquito larvae, burlap or the like type of bags or containers are laid in the path of the incoming water, as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,843, wherein spaced openings as used to control the dispersion of the chemical for killing such mosquito larvae when they emerge. Other techniques, such as solid state chemical dispensers for regulating the chlorine content in a swimming pool, are also used as is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,425,348 and 3,483,989. Such solid state dispensers include sized passages or openings to control the flow of water into and out of the solid state dispensers to control the rate at which the chemicals dissolve into the surrounding water in the swimming pool.
This is also illustrated in the case of reservoirs which historically have been treated with predetermined quantities of algaecides such as copper sulfate to control the growth and proliferation of algae. Thus it is known to apply copper sulfate to such reservoirs by utilizing boats for pulling or dragging burlap bags full of copper sulfate crystals through the water in such reservoirs for this purpose.
In the prior art burlap bag techniques for controlling or arresting the growth of algae in reservoirs, analysis has shown that there are difficulties with this procedure. Amongst these is the cost of the labor because of the manpower required to handle the quantities of copper sulfate used; the necessity for using relatively large and expensive copper sulfate crystals because smaller crystals of copper sulfate dissolve too quickly, particularly when burlap bags are moved through relatively warmer water in the reservoir being treated; the limited life and cost for the replacement of the burlap bags or the limited supply and costs for mesh type plastic bags sometimes used in place of such burlap bags; the application time and the time required to clean and reset the equipment for further treatment; and last, the need to comply with the government regulations which pervade the application and use of chemicals in the treatment of any such potable water.
The present invention provides an improved apparatus, device and method for treating adverse conditions in a body of water such as a reservoir for overcoming these problems of the prior art which uses a basket or dispensing container made of a suitable plastic or the like material having the strength and inertness to withstand the rigors for treating the body of water with chemicals which is removably connectable to any suitable means for transporting the basket or dispensing container through the body of water to be treated. The basket or dispensing container includes wall means defining a sized and shaped storage compartment having a charging opening for receiving the soluble chemicals for treating the body of water, a front end wall means on said storage compartment has a predetermined sized and shaped inlet means for controlling the volume and rate of water passing into said storage compartment and an outlet means for water having the chemicals dissolved therein, and means on the front end wall means is operatively associated with the inlet means for opening and closing the inlet means to start and stop the flow of water into said storage compartment.